The capability to grow nutritious, palatable food for crew consumption during spaceflight has the potential to provide health promoting, bioavailable nutrients, enhance the dietary experience, and…

This is a grant awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) to conduct research and development on growing nutritious, palatable food crops for consumption during long-duration spaceflight missions. The $111,165.67 grant, awarded on November 16, 2017, is part of NASA's Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships program and focuses on using the Veggie vegetable production system on the International Space Station (ISS) to develop optimal growing protocols for leafy greens and dwarf tomatoes. The research aims to evaluate the impact of light quality and fertilizer on crop yield, safety, nutrition, and acceptability for astronaut consumption, to support development of a fresh produce component for the ISS food system. No set-aside designation is indicated for this award. SNC, a woman-owned small business manufacturer, has provided a range of aerospace and defense products and services to NASA and other federal agencies through both prime contracts and subcontractor roles.

The capability to grow nutritious, palatable food for crew consumption during spaceflight has the potential to provide health promoting, bioavailable nutrients, enhance the dietary experience, and reduce launch mass as we move toward longer-duration missions. However, studies of edible produce during spaceflight have been limited, leaving a significant knowledge GAP in the methods required to grow safe, acceptable, nutritious crops for consumption in microgravity. The veggie vegetable-production system on the international space station (ISS) offers an opportunity to develop a pick-and-eat fresh vegetable component to the ISS food system as a first step to bioregenerative supplemental food production. We propose growing salad plants in the veggie unit during spaceflight, focusing on the impact of light quality and fertilizer formulation on crop morphology, edible biomass yield, microbial food safety, organoleptic acceptability, nutritional value and behavioral health benefits of the fresh produce. Phase a of the project would involve flight tests using leafy greens. Phase b would focus on dwarf tomato. Our work will help define light colors, levels, and horticultural best practices to achieve high yields of safe, nutritious leafy greens and tomatoes to supplement a space diet of prepackaged food. Our final deliverable will be the development of growth protocols for these crops in a spaceflight vegetable production system.